Polis menangkap orang itu.

This sentence follows the very common Malay pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object

So here:

• Polis = subject
• menangkap = verb
• orang itu = object

That is very similar to basic English word order:

• The police arrested that person

Malay often keeps this straightforward SVO order in simple active sentences.

Malay does not use articles like the or a/an the way English does.

So polis can mean:

• police
• the police
• sometimes a police officer or police officers

The exact meaning depends on context.

If Malay wants to make something more specifically identifiable, it often uses words like itu or relies on context instead of an article.

It can be either, depending on context.

Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural the way English nouns often do. So polis can refer to:

• the police as a force
• a police officer
• police officers

In real usage, context tells you which one is intended.

Also, Malay verbs do not change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural, so menangkap stays the same either way.

Tangkap is the root word, meaning catch or arrest.

menangkap is the active verb form built with the meN- prefix:

• tangkap → menangkap

This is a very common pattern in Malay for active transitive verbs.

There is also a sound change:

• the root begins with t
• when meN- is added, the t drops
• so tangkap becomes menangkap, not mentangkap

This is a normal spelling and pronunciation pattern in Malay morphology.

The meN- prefix usually forms an active verb, especially one that takes an object.

So:

• tangkap = catch, arrest
• menangkap = to catch/arrest something or someone

In this sentence, the verb clearly has an object:

• orang itu

So menangkap is the expected form in standard Malay.

orang means person, people, or human being, depending on context.

itu usually means that, and it comes after the noun in Malay.

So:

• orang itu = that person
• and in some contexts it can also be understood as the person

Because Malay often leaves number unmarked, orang itu could theoretically be singular or plural from form alone, but in many basic examples it is understood as that person.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• orang ini = this person
• orang itu = that person

This is different from English, where this and that come before the noun.

So English:

• that person

Malay:

• orang itu

Its basic meaning is that, but in many sentences it can also make a noun feel definite, which is why English may translate it as the.

So orang itu can often be understood as:

• that person
• the person

The best translation depends on context. Malay does not divide these meanings as neatly as English does.

Sometimes context may allow that interpretation, because Malay often does not mark plural explicitly.

However, in a simple sentence like this, learners will usually understand orang itu as that person.

If Malay wants to make plurality clearer, it can use reduplication:

• orang-orang itu = those people

So if the meaning is definitely plural, Malay often adds extra clues.

In informal or colloquial speech, you may hear reduced forms like that.

But in standard Malay, the more correct form is:

Polis menangkap orang itu.

That is because menangkap is the expected active transitive verb form in careful, formal usage.

So for learning standard grammar, use menangkap.

A common passive version is:

Orang itu ditangkap oleh polis.

Breakdown:

• orang itu = that person
• ditangkap = was arrested
• oleh polis = by the police

Malay uses di- for many passive forms.

So:

• menangkap = arrests / is arresting
• ditangkap = is arrested / was arrested

You can negate it with tidak:

Polis tidak menangkap orang itu.

That means:

• The police did not arrest that person or
• The police are not arresting that person

Malay tense is often understood from context, so the exact English translation depends on the situation.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So menangkap by itself does not specifically mean only:

• arrests
• is arresting
• arrested

Context tells you the time reference.

If needed, Malay can add time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• esok = tomorrow

So:

• Polis menangkap orang itu semalam = The police arrested that person yesterday
• Polis sedang menangkap orang itu = The police are arresting that person

Here, polis is a noun.

It refers to the police or a police officer / police officers, depending on context.

It is the subject of the sentence, the one doing the action of menangkap.

So grammatically in this sentence:

• polis = noun
• menangkap = verb
• orang itu = noun phrase object

A rough guide is:

me-nang-kap

A few helpful points:

• ng is like the sound in sing
• the final a in Malay is usually a clear vowel, not reduced like many English unstressed vowels
• Malay pronunciation is generally more consistent than English spelling

So menangkap sounds roughly like: muh-nahng-kahp, but with cleaner vowels than in English.

For this meaning, yes, that would sound unnatural.

The normal Malay pattern is simply:

orang itu

Malay does not usually insert a word equivalent to that before the noun the way English does. The standard structure is:

• noun + itu

So use:

• orang itu not
• orang yang itu for this basic meaning.